My Hysterectomy Story
Posted on October 29, 2026 by Ching under Health.
It’s story time, friends. Some of you who have been with me since the beginning of this blog know about my thyroidectomy about 14 years ago and know how what that journey was like. I was super reluctant to have surgery and so I continued to put it off until my thyroid had gotten so enlarged on one side that I really had no choice.
Fast forward to now, and I had a very similar journey with my hysterectomy. Problems started a few years ago, maybe around 2022-2023 time frame. Up until this point, I had very regular, predictable, normal periods. I never had any issues with cramps or anything like that. My period would come every month like clockwork. I would bleed for 3-4 days, maybe 5 at most, and then it would be over. And then a few years ago, my monthly cycle became highly irregular and I started suffering from really bad period cramps. They were so bad, I actually bought a heated pad to help soothe my abdominal cramps. There were months I wouldn’t have my period and those were great but then there were months I would bleed for two weeks straight and be completely miserable the entire time. I’d never taken so many pain killers my entire life. Even when I had my thyroidectomy, I took two Tylenol pills and that was about it. Now I’d started popping ibuprofen and NSAIDs like my life depended on it.
When I finally had enough, I talked to my doctor (at Center for Women’s Health at the time) about options. We talked about hysterectomy, which I wasn’t quite ready for; ablation, which also seemed invasive to me; and finally, birth control. I hadn’t taken birth control pills in years at this point. We just didn’t need any type of contraceptives. So here I am, taking birth control pills in my 40s–not for contraception, but to help with my issues.
It took a few months but it actually did work. My monthly cycle became more predictable. The cramps were few and manageable. While I had some other issues (mainly knee problems), for the first time in a really long time, my period cramps weren’t causing me problems. 2024 was mostly okay but then my blood pressure started running high. Center for Women’s Health had closed so I was with my new doctor at Associates in Women’s Health. I have always had unusually low blood pressure so it was strange that I suddenly had high blood pressure. (SIDE NOTE: September 2024 is when Brian got diagnosed with cancer, which shifted my routines so I’m sure it wasn’t all because of the birth control pills. I had become far less active during those months.)
We took me off the birth control pills, which didn’t really change anything; so shortly after, our GP prescribed me blood pressure medication. I started it this year and it’s actually help normalize my blood pressure a ton. In the meantime, almost as soon as I stopped the birth control, my period issues came back.
During our Alaska cruise last year, I went through three boxes of tampons because I was bleeding the entire time. I brought tampons for the trip but used them all up and had to buy two more boxes and used them all before we got home. This summer I got very anemic to the point that Brian had to pick me up from work and take me to the ER where they gave me a blood transfusion. For our solar eclipse cruise in August, I made sure to pack a ton of tampons so I wouldn’t have to buy expensive boxes during the trip. I went through all of those because I pretty much bled almost the entire time (again) and I had a couple of days of miserable cramps.
I’ve known for a while that a hysterectomy is the solution but my ambivalence was fueled by my fear of having surgery (despite having survived one already all those years ago) and also periods (pun intended) of normalcy. There were times when my periods were normal, and actually some months when I didn’t have one. During those times I felt like surgery wasn’t necessary. However, the miserable times make me wish that I had gotten my hysterectomy yesterday. Because I was wavering between these feelings and also I didn’t really want to be cut off from my normal routines (I wouldn’t be able to play pickleball or do Zumba) during recovery so I continued to put it off until my last gyno appointment. It was a follow up after my ER trip. It was then that we decided that I would finally have my hysterectomy this year. My doctor was out on maternity leave following the birth of her third child and we were traveling in August so we agreed to regroup at my well-woman exam on October 8. We also turned that visit into my pre-op appointment.
I didn’t have a surgery date yet but I tried to keep my schedule open. I didn’t sign up for any tournaments from October to the end of the year. However, I did RSVP for a couple of things that I was bummed about missing but you can only put your life on hold so much. I rolled the dice that I would be able to attend and lady luck wasn’t on my side.
October 8–doctor got my surgery date set for Tuesday, October 20. Things happened so quickly after my pre-op. Wesley Hospital asked me to come in for their on pre-op visit on Tuesday, October 13, exactly one week before surgery. But they called me before that. On Friday, October 9, someone from Wesley spoke to me on the phone to confirm my October 13 appointment but also asked me a bunch of questions about my medical history and medications.
I asked the lady on the phone with me exactly what I would be coming in for on the 13th since she seemed to be getting all the information already over the phone. She explained they have go over all the information with me in person, get some labs done, and they’re also giving me a “goody bag.” She sensed that I perked up at hearing “goody bag” and told me that she probably shouldn’t have called it that because it’s not that kind of “goody bag.” LOL.
October 13–Brian and I carpooled to work that day so he could take me to my 7:30 AM pre-op appointment at Wesley. Here’s a pic of us waiting at the hospital.
Here’s a picture of my “goody bag,” which contained pre-op instructions, informational pamphlets, a breathing exercise device, a bottle of Ensure pre-surgery drink, and a couple of antiseptic wipes.
October 20–surgery day. Brian helped me prepare our bed the night before. They instructed me to sleep on clean sheets. They also said no pets in the bed with us, but that wasn’t happening. LOL. We love Saki too much to push her away. We followed the instructions about the clean sheets, though.
They told me to shower but not apply any kind of lotions or products. Instead I was to wipe my entire body with the cloths that were provided. My body needed to be completely clean prior to surgery to reduce the risk of infection.
I also wasn’t allowed to eat anything at all that day except for the Ensure drink that they gave me, which I was supposed to drink before going to the hospital. Check in was at 11:00 AM and surgery was scheduled for 1:00 PM.
Here’s a picture of the “ready” room. I don’t think it’s actually called that but that’s what I’m calling it because this is where they got me ready for surgery.
Brian stayed and worked from the hospital that day. He did walk across the street to grab some lunch but came back and waited until I was ready to go home.
I was thinking I would be released by 4:00 PM but the schedule didn’t quite work out that way. First, the doctor was running late so we didn’t have my surgery at 1:00 PM as planned. Surgery started later than planned and, while the surgery itself only took a couple of hours or so, it took me almost an hour to wake up from the anesthesia. I woke up starving because I hadn’t eaten anything since 8:00 PM the night before. The nurse gave me Mott’s applesauce. I’ve never been a fan of applesauce but, that day, at that moment, it tasted delicious.
They wouldn’t release me until I was able to urinate. Once I finally did, I was free to go. I just wanted to go home and continue sleeping. I think it was 7:00 PM by the time we finally got home.
I haven’t spoken to my doctor since the surgery. Brian spoke to her and he said that the doctor told him it went really well. My four fibroids were bigger than expected but surgery went smoothly. I have to agree because I feel pretty good for only a week out. I am looking forward to my follow-up appointment next week to see if the doctor can release me to return to work. Hoping my recovery continues with no setbacks. Stay tuned!
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Tallgrass Film Festival 2026
Posted on October 26, 2026 by Ching under Community, Things to Do.
This is our first time back at Tallgrass Film Festival in a few years and my first time embracing it fully. In the past, when we’ve gotten Tallpasses from either my work on through Jenni, we’ve always just attended the VIP parties. This year, since it was the final weekend before my hysterectomy, I decided to take Friday off work and really immerse myself in the festival by watching multiple movies and attending as many of the activations as I could.
On the first day of the film fest, we attended the festival opening reception and open house at Wichita State University Shocker Studios. Shocker Studios didn’t exist when I attended Wichita State. The 50,000 square foot facility is located at the old Wichita Mall on East Harry. I guess the facility opened in 2017 but I never knew of its existence until recently. Here’s a video tour of the facility.
We watched our first festival movie, YO Love is a Rebellious Bird, in their large conference rooms. It’s a really interesting story about a friendship between two women who are decades apart in age. Here’s preview trailer.
Since opening night was on Thursday, we opted to skip the kickoff party at Hawk’s Nest. I was off the next day but Brian still had work.
On Friday I met Jenni at Reverie and filmed her first kouign-amann experience before the Crystal Cross screening at Boulevard Theatres. Boulevard at Old Town Square was the main hub for all the movies with a few exceptions–the opening night screening at WSU Shocker Studios and screenings at the Orpheum Theater on Saturday. Here’s the Crystal Cross movie trailer:
After the movie I went to check out the VIP lounge with Jenni where they had really cool themed rooms for people to take photos. We had to keep our lounge stop brief in order to make our next movie screening: Wood Street. Here’s a preview of the documentary:
I really wanted to watch another movie and hit popcorn happy hour in the Cargill Community Tent but Brian was getting off work and I was getting hungry. I decided to go home and pick up Brian for some dinner before our final movie of the day: Loves Company.
This movie was so weird. I’m not sure I would have watched it had it not been part of the film festival so I do appreciate Tallgrass Film Festival for the opportunity to watch something unique and different. There was a theme party at the Cargill Community Tent that night which we also skipped because Brian had an early drive down to Oklahoma to see his parents the next day. Here’s a highlight reel of my day at TFF on Friday.
I had extremely high hopes for watching a bunch of movies on Saturday but ended up sleeping in and getting a later start than I wanted. Despite this though, I’d still watched more movies this festival year than any other year I’ve attended. After a quick lunch at Kim’s Noodle down the street from our house, I met Jenni and Adam at EggCetera downtown and the three of us piled into my car to go to the Orpheum for the screening of Seized. It’s a documentary film about the police raid of the Marion County Record.
After that I went to get Brian at home and we met Adam and Jenni at Piatto for dinner before returning to the Orpheum for Copeland, which was mine and Brian’s favorite film of the festival.
Here are highlights from day 3 of the film festival.
The last day of the film festival kicked off with community breakfast and dance party in the middle of Old Town Square. It was kind of hard to decide what to watch after breakfast. We opted to go see Kansas Shorts, a collection of short films made by Kansas filmmakers.
These are the short films that were included in that block:
- Flooding Kaw Nation: Submerged Cities, Desecrated Graves, and Kaw Lake
- Safer Waters: Artist Stephen Towns on Paradise Park
- Rainbow Rider
- Hit-Woman
- It’s Nice to Finally Meet You
- We’re All Sorry Souls
I wanted to watch more films but it had been a long weekend already. Brian and I decided to take a midday nap break before meeting back up with Adam and Jenni for the awards ceremony and then dinner. We originally wanted to have dinner at Public but forgot that they’re closed on Sundays so we ended up having dinner at River City Brewering Co. instead.
While we’ve skipped most of the parties this year, we did attend the festival wrap party at Velvet Tiger–mostly curiosity. I’d never heard of the Velvet Tiger before. I guess it’s because they haven’t officially opened yet. It’s going to be a pretty hip hot spot (think “upscale dive bar”) on S. Hydraulic, which isn’t really the best part of town but, with the new Goldfinch coffee shop down the street, I’m hopeful that the area will begin to flourish.
Anyway, I’m really glad that TFF weekend happened before my surgery because I don’t know if I would have felt up to sitting through all these movies after my hysterectomy. The only thing that would have been better is if it was actually even earlier because I couldn’t drink alcohol three days before surgery and Brian, who is so strict about following instructions, cut me off on Saturday. They had all that free booze at the events and all I could drink was Pepsi.
Oh, well. Hopefully Jenni will hook us up with passes again next year.
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Bally Bash and Bartlesville
Posted on October 25, 2026 by Ching under Pickleball, Travel.
We packed a lot of stuff in one of my final weekends before surgery. Since I didn’t know how I would feel after, I really wanted to make the most of the last days of freedom. LOL.
I teamed up with my friend Donnie Lesperance for my final Friday Night Fiesta. The next day we attended our first Bally Bash. We’ve always been invited since having met the Ballys through pickleball a few years ago but we’d never been able to make it until this year because we are either out of town or have some other commitment. Last year we missed it due to my birthday getaway to St. Charles. Usually they have Bally Bash later in the month of October so it always falls around either my birthday or Halloween. This year they held it much earlier, which was a good thing too because, not only did the weekend work out well for us this year, but also, had it been later in the month, it would have fallen after my surgery and I probably wouldn’t have felt up to going.
On Sunday, the girls and I had a fun little day trip to Bartlesville so they could check out the new Aught2 Pickleball facility. Brian and I came down on their grand opening weekend so I had been there before but I was excited to show the other ladies. Megan, Gwen, and I rode down with Susie. Ashley and Michelle came from Emporia and met us down there. I made a fun little highlight reel of our trip.
Deana brought together a fabulous group of ladies to play with us, plus Kumar. It was so much fun! You can find some of our game footage in my pickleball YouTube channel. A bunch of us had a nice lunch at La Fiesta after playing. It’s Deana’s favorite Mexican restaurant.
Kumar’s favorite restaurant is Senor Salsa. He had dinner plans there that evening so he did not join us for lunch. He didn’t want to eat Mexican food twice in the same day. I never understood why Kumar and Deana had different favorite Mexican restaurants until this trip.
Apparently, good looking international students (soccer players) at Oklahoma Wesleyan University tend to get part time jobs at La Fiesta as servers. Every semester brings a new batch. The food quality being equal, I finally understood why Deana preferred La Fiesta. LOL.
We had a great time at lunch and even got a group picture with our server Alejandro and his friend and fellow soccer player Mateja in our photo. Mateja was helping a different section but he got in the photo.
The trip down and back was uneventful and didn’t even seem to take that long. Susie is a great driver and the four of us had fun catching up on the trip down. Gwen and Megan slept on the way back while I kept Susie company. Gwen needed to be back by 4 PM and Susie made up a lot of time on the way back. We were back at her house shortly after 4 PM where Brian was waiting, despite an initial ETA of 4:30 PM. I am so grateful to the ladies for making this trip happen. This was the best little road trip before my surgery.
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Glampgrounds at Chicken N Pickle
Posted on October 21, 2026 by Ching under Things to Do.
Fall is my favorite time of year. Not just because of the mild temperatures but because it means Glampgrounds are back at Chicken N Pickle.
Last year, we went later in the season. I don’t believe I did it intentionally, but I booked on my actual birthday. I think it’s just the way our schedules lined up that year. This year we had the opportunity to preview it before reservations opened to the public.
Glampgrounds opened to the public on October 8 and I originally chose my date as October 6 because it fell on mom’s birthday but she actually already had plans that day. I ended up inviting our friends instead so as not to let the reservation go to waste. Mom was actually super busy throughout the last couple of weeks that we didn’t get a chance to give her birthday presents to her until last Sunday.
I joked to Jenni that we should get birthday cake and celebrate mom’s birthday without her but she was busy with Tallgrass Film Festival preparations that she couldn’t make it. We still made the most of our Glampgrounds reservation, though.
Glampgrounds are available through November 28. S’more for your group are free with every reservation. You can make your reservation here.
FULL DISCLOSURE: Chicken N Pickle comped our reservation and great outdoors platter ($48) for this preview visit. However, we did pay for a second great outdoors platter and all of our drinks. Even without the perks, I highly recommend this experience. Have you done it? Let us know your thoughts.
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Busy Weekends Recap
Posted on October 4, 2026 by Ching under Pickleball, Travel.
I keep falling behind on the blog due to busy Weekends so this is going to be another catch up post. First, I volunteered at our work booth at the Kansas State Fair a couple of weeks ago. Didn’t really get to enjoy the fair because Brian didn’t want to come up. That and we had Zoobile the prior weekend and a pickleball tournament in Overland Park on the second weekend. We had work in between so there wasn’t really any time to go.
I was so focused on getting to Hutchinson early that I prepared my bag the night before. However, I forgot to throw the most important thing in there–my ticket. I grabbed my bag when I walked out in the morning and didn’t realize that my ticket was still on my desk until after I parked. I figured that I would probably just have to pay for a ticket for the day but when I explained the situation to the gate attendant, she just let me in. I guess I have a trustworthy face. LOL.
Actually, she was like, “Just remember to bring your ticket tomorrow.” I wasn’t volunteering any other days, but I wasn’t going to argue so I just said, “Yes, ma’am.”
I didn’t want my ticket to go to waste so, on our way out of town the next morning, we gave my ticket to the drive-thru person at Mokas. I figured that even if they couldn’t use it, then maybe they’ll run into someone going to the Kansas State Fair who could benefit from a free ticket. We weren’t running into anyone else likely to go because we were about to get stuck in the car for two and a half hours.
We went up to Overland Park for the APP Dillons Overland Park Open. First, we weren’t planning on going up. I kind of toyed with the idea of going up to spectate and cheer for friends who were playing but wasn’t particularly committed. However, due to the low registration numbers, they were giving away free tournament entries to various clubs. I got an offer to play for free through TapNPaddles and also through the Chicken N Pickle ambassador team.
I could have played in multiple events for free but, because I was at the Kansas State Fair on Friday, I really could only play on Sunday. I decided to roll the dice and signed up for 4.0 mixed doubles without a partner. As luck would have it, a friend from Kansas City (Isaiah Peel) also did not have a partner so we agreed to team up. The down side for us was that we had never really played together before and we didn’t really get a chance to have any practice games. But I wasn’t really too concerned because I wasn’t counting on playing. I was just grateful that I could.
Brian and I caught another lucky break in that the Holiday Inn Express next to the tournament venue is pet-friendly so Saki could go with us. Here’s a view of the tournament venue from our hotel room window.
We arrived at the hotel early and our room wasn’t ready so Brian dropped me off at the tournament while he waited in the lobby with Saki. The concierge was nice and let him check in shortly after noon. After he got Saki settled in our room, he grabbed some lunch and then came out to tournament to watch our friends and hang out with me.
Dinner that night was at Nick & Jake’s. Credit to our friend Susie Ternes for organizing. The next day a bunch of us had to play against one another in mixed doubles. There were three Wichita teams in our division–Branden Stephenson (Susie’s brother) and Stacie Myers, Craig and Kelly Balzer, and Susie and Keith Lietzke. Then there’s my team which is half Wichita, half Kansas City.
There were nine teams total and so they divided the teams into two pools. The Balzers and Branden and Stacie were in the pool with five teams and then Susie and Keith and my team were in the pool with four teams. I was glad that we weren’t all in the same pool because I’ve actually had that happen in past tournaments. Anyway, the format was such that only the top two teams in each pool would advance into the playoff bracket. In the end, only teams with Wichita players got to advance so our four teams got to complete for medals. Wichita ended up sweeping the podium with the Balzers taking first, Branden and Stacie taking second, and Keith and Susie taking third. I think my team ended up falling short of the podium because we were only half Wichita. LOL.
All jokes aside, I had a fantastic time at the tournament. Our division started late so Brian and Saki actually drove back to Wichita without me because we had to check out of our hotel and the indoor venue wasn’t pet-friendly. I hitched a ride home with Susie and Branden so it worked out that we all finished around the same time.
The tournament was held AdventHealth Sports Park, a brand new venue in the Bluhawk area of Overland Park. The indoor sports facility also has an ice skating rink and a massive arcade. Naturally, we had to play some games before we left because the Stephensons (specially Susie and Branden) are quite competitive.
The following weekend our friend Tom Grace came to visit and we all got our nails done together: me, Brian, and Chris Townley (our usual group) plus Tom. Susie even joined us–which worked out great because then it gave me a chance to watch the Paddles for Plates benefit tournament for the Kansas Food Bank at Chicken N Pickle. And, then I rode with her to the nail salon.
After nails, Susie had Somewhere Fest. Tom, Chris, Brian, and I had the drone festival at Exploration Place but we grabbed dinner at the Monarch before that. On Sunday we had a surprise birthday party at TapNPaddles for Kelly Balzer. It was another fantastic weekend.
This weekend, I took my sister to the hospital on Friday for her colonoscopy. Her husband Adam works late so I agreed to take her. Anyway, I was documenting this occasion because I thought it was her first one. I was quite disappointed to find out this is actually her second because she had a colonoscopy before while in her 30s.
Our friend Laurie Adams came to visit for the weekend and we celebrated her birthday at Newport Grill. We got to meet her friends Lindsey and Doug, who also live in Wichita, and her boyfriend Cale at dinner.
On Saturday, I ran the first InPickle Nation mini tournament of the fall season (which was a little tricky as I had a couple of no shows–thankfully, Pam Browning and Branden Waldschmidt who were already there playing in Harvey’s ladder group agreed to stay and play to complete our group). Laurie and Branden got paired for bracket and took second.
Brian and I met Adam and Jenni at the movies after IPN. Jenni got us tickets to watch the Forgotten Island, a Disney animated film based on Filipino folklore. It was the first time Brian and I had been to the movies in nearly 10 years and it reminded us of why we quit going. We should be good for another decade. LOL.
All jokes aside, the movie was really good. We laughed. We cried. We were thoroughly entertained. Highly recommend you go see it. I think it’s especially relevant because there were many Tagalog words used in the movie and Brian had recently learned some of the words through his Facebook reels.
Today, we’re chillin’ at home watching Championship Sunday. Watching pickleball tournaments on the TV is one of my favorite ways to relax after a busy week.
That pretty much catches us up. Until next time!
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